Sisterly Love
by Compucles
Summary: Ranko was born the daughter of Genma and Nodoka Saotome. After the tragic deaths of her parents, she grows up with the Tendo family with a normal childhood other than her crush on her "sister," Akane. Now, Ranko now has to deal with chaos in her life, which leads to the strange truths behind the Saotome family, while her relationship with Akane continues to grow. Ranko x Akane
1. Becoming Sisters

**Sisterly Love**

**Disclaimer:** Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. She doesn't think about these kinds of things, but I do.

**Formatting Notes:** Double quotes indicate spoken dialogue, while single quotes indicate thoughts. Italics indicate flashbacks. I'm not very familiar with Japanese honorifics, so I won't be using them. I will also be using English translations for most terms except for the technique names that are left untranslated in the animé. As for the Amazon names, the naming theme can't be a coincidence (as with the Musk naming theme). I feel that the Chinese Amazons purposely name their children after the English words for hygiene products and then write the names as the closest Chinese equivalent. Therefore, they will have the same names even when speaking to each other in Chinese in the context of the story.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Becoming Sisters**

The newlywed couple was finishing their dinner in their camp in the Chinese mountains. The woman glared at her new husband as she asked, "Genma dear, China has been great so far, but why must we hike through these mountains as part of our honeymoon just to find some legendary training ground?"

Genma sighed. "It's only a day's journey from our hotel, Nodoka honey. We'll be there tomorrow morning. Ever since Master Happosai informed me of this place, I've wanted to see for myself if this Jusenkyo is really such a great place to train. It's supposed to have some sort of magical qualities, and I want to know if it would be a good idea to come back some day while training our future children."

"Well, I guess it's not too bad," replied Nodoka. "The scenery is beautiful, after all. Now, why don't we go to bed, dear. I've been enjoying how manly you've been over the past few days, and I don't want to stop now."

The two of them entered their tent, and they soon had no use for their clothing. Unknown to them at this time, this night of passion between them had a side-effect of fusing some of their DNA within Nodoka's body.

* * *

In the morning, the couple reached their destination as planned. They were greeted by the Jusenkyo Guide and signed the visitors' log.

Genma was disappointed. He had been expecting more from this place than a bunch of bamboo poles sprouting from several dozen small freshwater pools. He jumped up on one of the bamboo poles to take a closer look.

"Sir, what you doing?!" complained the guide. "I not finished with story of tragic legend. It very bad if you fall in spring!"

"Genma, maybe you should listen to him," said Nodoka. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this."

"Don't worry about it," replied Genma. "I think I can handle a pool of water." As he finished speaking, however, he accidentally shifted his weight a little too far for his above-average girth and lost his balance. Down into one of the springs he fell.

Nodoka screamed as what emerged from the spring was a panda wearing her husband's gi and glasses. "Oh, too bad," said the guide. "You fall in Spring of Drowned Panda. There a very tragic legend of a panda who drown there 1,200 year ago. Now whoever fall in spring take body of panda."

Nodoka was not listening to this, however. The panda had jumped out of the spring and was approaching her, so she began running in fear. Unfortunately, she slipped and fell in one of the other springs.

As she came to the surface wet and sputtering, the guide and the panda both approached. "Ma'am, you very lucky. You fall in Spring of Drowned Girl. There a very tragic legend of a girl who drown there 1,500 year ago. Now whoever fall in spring take body of girl. However, since you already a girl, you no change form. You still technically cursed, though, so you now a water magnet like all Jusenkyo victims."

Nodoka looked at the guide in shock. "You mean this panda is my husband?!"

"Yes," replied the guide, "but it not permanent. Hot water will change him back, but cold water will change him into panda again. Come back to hut, and I will heat hot water."

* * *

"Well, that was a _great_ idea," complained Nodoka sarcastically as they were heading back the way they had come. "Let's go see Jusenkyo, a magic valley recommended by the greatest pervert alive. Now I'm married to a half-panda and have to worry about getting drenched everywhere I go."

"You think I'm happy about this?" argued Genma as he threw up his hands. "At least you don't transform when you get wet. How was I supposed to know the place was cursed?"

Nodoka sighed. "Well, there's no use crying over spilled milk. We'll just have to make the best of this. At least you weren't the one who fell in the Spring of Drowned Girl." Genma's face paled as he shuddered. "Well, one thing's for sure," continued Nodoka. "Cold drinks are now banned from the bedroom. I don't even want to think about what could happen if you transformed while performing your manly duties to me."

Just then, they noticed a strange man approaching at an alarming speed. He was dressed in furs and holding a crying infant. Nodoka's eyes went wide at what she suspected was happening. "Genma, stop him! I think he abducted that poor child!"

Genma blocked the man's way as he reached them and settled into a fighting stance after dropping his pack to the ground. "What are you doing with that child?" he asked menacingly.

The man slid to a stop at this unexpected confrontation. He knew he could just run around this foolish Japanese couple, but his pride wouldn't let himself be challenged like this without a response. "You dare challenge the great Musk warrior Bayleaf?" he retorted with confidence. "You will suffer for this indignity." He walked to the shade of a nearby tree, where he carefully placed the baby before returning to deal with his challenger.

"My name is Genma Saotome of the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts," Genma proclaimed proudly, "and I'll be glad to teach you a lesson or two."

The two fighters charged towards each other and began a fierce battle. Nodoka ran over to grab the child as she watched and attempted to stay out of the way. Genma put up a good fight but soon realized he was outmatched, as Bayleaf possessed inhuman speed. It was all Genma could do to prevent a blow to his vital spots.

Eventually, Genma was sent flying into a nearby stream, where he transformed into his cursed form. "Ah, a Jusenkyo curse," noticed Bayleaf. "I brought something special along in case I had accidentally snatched a boy, and I think it would be a fitting punishment to now use it to lock you in that cursed form. He approached the stream and removed a strange pail and ladle from his hip. He filled the pail and attempted to use the ladle to splash Genma with water from the pail. While not understanding what he was attempting, Genma had enough sense to know it could only be bad and rolled out of the way before painfully getting to his feet. He continued to dodge Bayleaf's attempts to splash him, although one of these splashes hit Nodoka as she turned to keep the baby dry.

Suddenly, Bayleaf froze as he heard footsteps approaching from the way he had come. "D***! I've taken too long. I can't risk letting them catch me. You'll pay for this someday, Genma Saotome!" He ran off as the Saotomes were approached by an old woman hopping on a wooden staff and a woman with indigo hair waving a scimitar. With the battle over, Genma collapsed to the ground. The woman sheathed her sword as she ran to Nodoka to recover the baby with a cry of "Shampoo!" Assuming this was the baby's mother, Nodoka handed her the child.

"I was right. It was a Musk warrior, one descended from a wolf. We got lucky," said the old woman in Chinese.

Not understanding the language, Nodoka tried to communicate hoping one of them spoke Japanese. "I'm glad we could help, but my husband has been injured. He has a Jusenkyo curse that turns him into the panda you see here. We could use some help."

"Ah, you're Japanese," said the old woman in the same language. "My name is Cologne, an elder of a nearby tribe of Chinese amazons. "This is my granddaughter, Mascara, and you've already met her daughter, Shampoo." While Nodoka thought these names sounded weird, she didn't know enough English to understand just how weird they were.

"I'm Nodoka Saotome and this is my husband, Genma," Nodoka introduced.

"You have our sincerest thanks," continued Cologne. "That man is from a nation called the Musk Dynasty, a tribe of warriors possessing the traits of animals that their forefathers transformed in Jusenkyo's Spring of Drowned Girl and then married." Nodoka shuddered at this. "That particular one snuck into our village last night and abducted Shampoo, likely to be raised as his own personal slave girl and eventually wife. The king of the Musk does not stand for this kind of behavior, so if he was foolish enough to give you his name, we can ensure he will be punished."

"Yes, he said his name is Bayleaf. I don't know why, but for some reason it sounds like a better name for a yellow quadruped with a long neck and a leaf growing from its head."

Cologne had hopped over to Genma and began examining his injuries. "Your husband must be quite a fighter to be able to hold off a Musk warrior as long as he did with no major injuries. We'll head back to our village where he can be changed back and treated for his injuries." Cologne grabbed Genma's clothes from the stream and his nearby pack, while Nodoka and Mascara helped Genma along with a furry arm over the shoulders of each woman.

* * *

Back in the Amazon village, Genma was nursed back to health, and the Saotomes were honored as honorary members of the tribe, an honor that would also extend to their children. Cologne also promised that if they had any daughters, she or someone else would one day train them in special Amazon martial arts techniques.

Nodoka expressed her worry that her husband had also been foolish enough to reveal his name and that Bayleaf had promised revenge. Luckily, the warning Cologne had sent to the Musk had allowed them to catch Bayleaf red-handed attempting to return the locking ladle and pail he had "borrowed." He had received a life sentence of imprisonment.

With that problem out of the way, the Saotomes were able to leave once Genma regained his health (while Nodoka made sure he didn't swipe anything), and they returned to Japan.

* * *

About nine months later, Nodoka gave birth to the couple's first child, a girl they named Ranko. Genma was disappointed that he didn't have a son to be his heir, especially as his best friend, Soun Tendo, had three daughters himself, the youngest born on the same day as Ranko. Without any boys between them, they would be unable to join their martial arts schools through the marriage of their children as they had once promised.

For two years, the Saotomes tried to have more children but to no avail. Eventually, they had found out that Genma's injuries from his battle with Bayleaf had left him infertile.

Genma was forced to conclude that having a female heir was better than no heir at all and reluctantly began training Ranko in martial arts. This decision was made more palatable by the facts that Ranko enjoyed the training and that she was a natural prodigy at learning the Art. She was even developing into quite a tomboy, finding it annoying when her mother made her wear cute little dresses or dolled up her brilliant red hair.

On Ranko's 4th birthday, her parents took her to meet the Tendos to share the celebration with their own birthday girl, Akane. Ranko and Akane soon became the best of friends, spending as much time together as they could and training together in martial arts under the proud watch of their fathers. The two patriarchs hoped that even though their original plans had failed, maybe their schools could still be joined in a way if Ranko one day decided to work with her best friend to teach the Saotome style of the school alongside the Tendo style once Akane inherited the dojo. (Although Soun had also been training Akane's older sisters, neither of them showed anywhere near the interest or skill that Akane did, so he had already decided on Akane as his heir to the school and dojo.)

* * *

For the first six years of her life, Ranko had enjoyed a happy and relatively normal childhood. However, that all changed on what was easily the worst day of her life.

It had started out promising. She had left with her father to join the Tendos on a Sunday training trip to a nearby wooded area. Soun shared the good news that yesterday his wife Kimiko had finally been able to return home after recovering from spending several weeks seriously ill in the hospital. The two families trained together in the morning, but after lunch Genma had insisted on some private training for Ranko in a special technique.

That afternoon, Ranko was both physically and mentally scarred as her father wrapped her in fish sausage and threw her into a pit of starving cats. He then repeated it several more times until Ranko snapped. The next think Ranko knew, she was waking up in Akane's arms, while Soun was treating the many deep scratches she had received. A scratched up Genma then explained about how she now knew the nearly unbeatable Cat-Fist technique but apparently at the cost of temporary insanity and a deep fear of cats.

At home that evening, Ranko was trying to watch TV but couldn't tune out her parents' argument.

"Genma, how could you teach our daughter such a dangerous technique?!" complained Nodoka.

"It was described in a legitimate martial arts training manual. I didn't know it would turn out like this. I just forgot to read the next page," Genma argued.

"That's no excuse, Genma," replied Nodoka angrily. "Anyone should be able to tell something's wrong when the instructions basically say to let the trainee be mauled by angry animals. That's not something you should be doing to anyone, let alone a six-year-old girl! Didn't that page you forgot to read say something about anyone attempting it being an idiot and needing to have his head examined? Who knows what would have happened if Akane hadn't been able to calm her down. Best friend or not, Soun would've had your head if any of his daughters had been harmed by your foolishness today."

Genma was still attempting to come up with a decent response when the doorbell rang. Having been saved by the bell, Genma went to answer the door. When he opened it, he found their visitor to be none other than his old enemy Bayleaf, who immediately stabbed Genma in the gut with a long knife. "I told you that you would pay someday for crossing me, Genma Saotome," he said in a cold voice.

Bayleaf carried no other weapons, but he didn't need any as he mercilessly pounded Genma, sending him flying through the walls several times. Realizing what was happening, Nodoka grabbed Ranko and looked for a way to escape, but she couldn't find a safe way past the combatants and eventually found herself trapped in a corner of the living room.

Before long, Genma's broken and unconscious form was lying on the floor of the living room in front of Bayleaf. In full view of the rest of the family, Bayleaf reached down and snapped Genma's neck, killing him instantly. "NOOO! Daddy!" screamed Ranko as she tried to escape her mother's arms.

"Ranko, no!" shouted her mother. "There's nothing you can do." At these words, Ranko relaxed in her mother's grip while beginning to cry. She turned her gaze to her husband's murderer who was now slowly approaching them. "I know you want revenge on my husband and me, but please let my daughter go. She's done nothing to you," she pleaded.

Bayleaf shook his head. "For seven years I've been imprisoned because of you. Your whole family dies tonight."

Desperately, Nodoka held on to her daughter with one arm, while she reached over to the nearby mantle to grab the Saotome honor blade. As she pointed it towards their attacker, she warned, "I won't let you touch my daughter."

Bayleaf paused to consider this turn of events. This woman was no threat to him even with a sword, but she might be able to hold him off long enough for her brat to escape. He wasn't going to make the same mistake a second time. Looking around, he got an idea. The structure was already weakened from his fight with Genma, so he took a few steps over to the house's main support beam and began to pull. Slowly but surely it began to break, and before long it snapped completely in his hands. He gave a vicious grin as the house began to collapse on top of all three of them.

* * *

From the rubble of the Saotome house emerged a single figure. Bayleaf knew he was strong enough to survive the collapse, but there was no way the mere 100% humans could've survived. His revenge was complete. He began limping away to make his escape before any of the authorities arrived.

However, before long, some of the rubble began shifting once again. Eventually, a little red-haired girl managed to emerge, coughing up dust. Using strength that no other girl her age possessed, she managed to remove enough rubble to reveal the bloodstained face of her mother, who had protected her daughter with her own body when the house had collapsed.

"Mom, don't you leave me too!" whined Ranko.

"It's too late for me," she softly replied. "You have to get away. Go straight to the Tendos' house. They'll protect you."

"Mom," Ranko sniffed, "One day I'll make sure that man pays for what he's done."

"Ranko, listen to me," Nodoka replied. "I understand your need for justice, but promise me you won't let revenge dominate your life. I love you, Ranko, as does your father. Never forget that."

"I promise," agreed Ranko. "I love you too, Mom."

Once Nodoka heard these words, she sighed in contentment, and the light faded from her eyes.

Ranko wanted to do nothing more than just lie down and scream at the tremendous emotional pain she felt. However, she knew that she couldn't afford to do that right now. She focused tightly and managed to seal up all the pain and sorrow deep inside herself, unknowingly discovering a technique that she would later learn was called the Soul of Ice. She quickly ran away from the scene shortly before the first emergency vehicles began to arrive.

* * *

The Tendo family was enjoying a quiet, peaceful evening at home when the peace was shattered at the sound of the doorbell. Kimiko answered the door to reveal a pale-faced Ranko whose clothes are hair were an absolute mess. "Ranko, what are you doing here? Where are your parents?"

In a soulless voiced that chilled Kimiko to her bones, Ranko replied, "Mom and Dad are gone. A man came to our house and killed them. He tried to kill me, too." Kimiko quickly pulled Ranko inside and ran to tell her husband.

* * *

That night, after Ranko gave her statement to the police, she was still in the same emotionless state in which she had arrived. The Tendos had insisted that Ranko spend the night with Akane, as they knew full well that she couldn't be left alone in that state. As they climbed into bed together, Ranko dressed in a spare pair of Akane's pajamas. Akane tried to get her best friend to open up. "Ranko, I know you're afraid of the pain, but you can't keep it all bottled up. It's not healthy. I'm here for you, and the rest of my family is, too. Please, just let all out."

As these words of encouragement, Ranko gained the courage to drop the Soul of Ice. Her dam of emotions broken, she cried well into the night while Akane held her in her arms. Once she cried herself to sleep, she twice later woke up screaming as she relived the attack in her nightmares. Each time, Akane managed to calm her down so they could both get back to sleep.

It would be weeks before Ranko recovered enough to sleep on her own. The Tendos sent her to a family counselor who helped her deal with her loss. The Tendos also sent her to a therapist to attempt to reduce her fear of cats, but with the usual method of acclimation therapy unusable due to the danger of the Cat Fist, there was nothing that could be done against such a deep-rooted phobia.

* * *

The next day, the Tendos received a call from a law firm. The Saotomes had at one point had a simple will written. Ranko was to be placed in the care of the Tendo family and inherit everything, which was unfortunately not much between Genma's debts and the collapsed house. Some items had been salvaged from the wreck, though, including the family honor blade with which Nodoka had made her last stand.

* * *

The day after that was the funeral, during which Ranko used the Soul of Ice to keep from crying through the whole thing. Later, she let Akane hold her as she let it all out. This would continue to be their routine whenever Ranko felt she had to hold back the pain for a while.

* * *

Three days after the tragedy, a tiny, old woman on a staff approached the remains of the Saotome house. Cologne shook her head sadly. She had been too late. When the Amazons had received word from the Musk that Bayleaf had escaped, Cologne had been sent to Japan to find and warn the Saotomes. Unfortunately, it was clear that Bayleaf had found them first.

Just in case, Cologne went to the house next door to see if she could find out exactly what had happened. When a middle-aged woman answered the door, Cologne introduced herself as an old friend of the Saotomes and asked what had happened.

"It was terrible," the woman began. "Three nights ago, there was all this noise coming from their house. It sounded like a war was going on. I called the police as did several of the other neighbors. I had just looked back at the place through our window when the whole place collapsed to the ground. I couldn't see much because of the dark, but it looked like a man left the scene shortly afterwards before the police could arrive. He must have been the one who did it. The next day we were told that both Genma and Nodoka Saotome had been murdered, but they won't tell us any more than that."

"I see," said Cologne. "I haven't seen them in years, but I'll certainly miss them." 'I'll have to see if Bayleaf can be tracked, but there's sadly no other reason to stay,' she thought.

As Cologne was hopping away, the woman made one final comment, "I really feel sorry for that poor girl, though."

Cologne stopped, curious, and hopped around to face the woman, "Girl? What girl?"

The woman looked back at Cologne with a curious look. "I guess it really has been years since you last saw them," she said. "I mean their daughter, Ranko. She's only five or six years old, but she somehow survived the attack. Poor thing, the rumors say she saw both her parents die before her eyes. I can't imagine how she feels. At least she has the Tendo family watching over her now. I hear they're good people."

"Thanks, you've been very helpful," Cologne said before hopping away. 'What an idiot to just tell me all of that!' she thought. 'If I were helping Bayleaf, the girl and this Tendo family she's staying with would all be slaughtered tonight.'

Cologne wasted no time in finding the address of the Tendo compound. She then went back to her hotel room and make a phone call back to the village to discuss this turn of events with the other elders. It was determined that Cologne would remain in Nerima to watch over the young Saotome girl and eventually provide the promised training when she was old enough.

As her cover, Cologne opened a Chinese restaurant in the area, which she called the Cat Café. Eventually, the Tendo family would decide to go out to eat there, at which time Cologne finally met her young charge. Cologne became a family friend and adviser, especially to Ranko and Akane, claiming to have taken interest in them due to her own prodigious skill in martial arts. Eventually, Ranko and Akane would learn that there was more to this old Chinese woman than they thought.

* * *

As the years passed, Ranko enjoyed her second childhood with the Tendo family. The Tendos treated her as a full member of the family. She was given the former upstairs guestroom as her own bedroom, complete with duck-shaped door hanger with her name spelled out in Roman characters. Soun and Kimiko became a second father and mother to her (although she refused to call them as such out of respect to her own parents), while Kasumi, Nabiki, Akane, and herself considered themselves to all be full and equal sisters regardless of blood. She and Akane were especially close as both sisters and best friends.

Meanwhile, Ranko and Akane continued to improve their martial arts skills at an unbelievable pace under Soun's instruction among his other students. Ranko was unquestionably the better of the two, but Akane wasn't far behind. By the time they were 14, Soun declared that there was nothing left he could teach them and encouraged them to improve further on their own by training together. As part of her family legacy, Ranko heavily incorporated the Saotome style of the school into her fighting, starting with the basics she had learned from her father as a little girl, then refining and extrapolating from there as her skills advanced.

Eventually, Ranko realized that something was changing in how she felt about Akane, and by the time she was 12 she figured out what it was. For a while, she had been refusing to take baths with any of her sisters, and one night at dinner she informed her family why she had stopped doing so. She had found herself physically attracted to girls, while boys provided her with no such interest. In other words, she was a lesbian. While her family was somewhat disappointed, they had little trouble accepting this part of her.

It was later on when she and Akane were working on their homework that Ranko revealed the other part of her self-discovery, which she would not be telling anyone else: She had developed a crush on Akane. As expected, Akane could not return her feelings, as she was attracted to boys, but was glad that Ranko had let her know in order to keep things from becoming too awkward between them.

Over the next few years, Ranko tried to restrict her feelings for Akane to the platonic level and look out for other lesbians as potential dates, but she just couldn't help falling deeper and deeper in love with her. Now they had both just turned 16 and were about to start high school, and Ranko found herself barely able to hide her interest in public, while alone together they had settled into a routine where Ranko would make obvious attempts to flirt with her, while Akane would accept these comments as if Ranko were just teasing her.

Finally, Ranko and Akane began high school together, unaware that they would soon reach a new turning point in their lives...

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Alright, I know I promised no new multi-chapter stories until I finished one, but I was reading through some of Noy Telinu's Ranma fics and saw his/her request for more Ranma yuri fics, so I decided to oblige. Just to warn everyone, Ranko is going to be especially popular in this AU, as not only will the guys be after her (at least until they learn of her preferences) but most of the major eligible female characters will be rewritten as either bisexual or lesbian.

Anyway, the idea for this fic came from asking myself how Ranma could be locked as a girl in a way that everybody, even himself, thought he actually was a girl. Anyone who's read the Musk arc of the manga should recognize what's going on with him here, but I'll refrain from spelling it out just in case someone would like to be surprised, in which case it would probably not be wise to look at any reviews I might get. This won't be a permanent girl-type Ranma fic though, as Ranko will be in for a huge surprise once I get to the Musk arc.

I won't be covering a good chunk of the manga arcs this time. I'll be skipping around only covering the major arcs and some others that benefit the plot. For example, I'll be skipping the Rhythmic Gymnastics Arc (although Kodachi will still cause trouble every now and then).

I suppose it's strange that Mrs. Tendo survived in this AU, but after killing off the Saotome parents I couldn't in good conscience do the same to her. Of course, this has led to a happier Tendo household than in canon such as Soun continuing to teach. Although Mrs. Tendo's name is never mentioned in the manga (or animé), I would've never been able to get away with leaving her nameless, so I went with the common fan name of Kimiko.

Normally, I would've used the manga age of 10 for learning the Cat Fist, but I felt Ranko needed to be younger for her Harry Potter style tragedy, while I still wanted her to know the Cat Fist.


	2. First Date

**Chapter 2: First Date**

The first day of school had ended on a surprising note. The fool, Tatewaki Kuno, had challenged the whole school that they could somehow get a date out of either Ranko or Akane if they defeated them in battle. Starting the next day, they had been forced to fight through several dozen male students and then Kuno himself before they could get to class.

The grunts were bad enough, but Kuno's annoyance was on a completely different level. While the others would generally leave them alone outside of the morning battles, Kuno was completely obsessed with both of them and would hit on them whenever he ran into one or both of them. It also didn't help that Kuno was actually quite skilled with his bokken, and while he was nowhere near either of their levels, he didn't go down easy once he started taking them seriously once he realized his normal method of holding back against girls was nearly suicidal. At least it was some decent training against a skilled armed opponent, as they took turns beating the c*** out of him each morning. They speculated with each other that he must be a masochist to be chasing after the two of them of all people and always coming back for more punishment.

Ranko took these attacks mostly in stride, as she was used to dealing with unwanted attention from boys, but Akane was getting frustrated with this treatment and was beginning to lose her focus. Ranko feared that if this kept up, she might accidentally cause a serious injury or lose all trust in men. Already she was screaming that she hated boys, which ironically caused rumors to spread that she was the one who was a lesbian.

'If only she was,' thought Ranko as she watched Akane at bat from her place in the on-deck circle during their game of P.E. baseball. To the casual observer, it appeared that Ranko was simply watching her teammate take her turn at the plate, but Ranko was actually using it as an excuse to stare at Akane herself.

Ranko normally shared the common opinion among the girls at Furinkan High that the tight t-shirts and brief-style gym shorts that the girls had for gym uniforms were excessively revealing and demeaning, but she could certainly appreciate them from time to time. 'She looks so hot dressed like that, and I don't mean the temperature,' she thought as she began to get aroused.

She was therefore not paying attention when Akane fouled off a pitch which then struck Ranko hard in the cheek. "Why didn't you dodge or catch that?" one of the girls asked, to which Ranko could only reply that she had something on her mind. "I'm sorry, sis," apologized Akane as she ran over and pulled the imbedded baseball out of Ranko's check to reveal a nasty bruise. "Let me help you take of that."

Akane took Ranko back to the locker room with permission of the teacher. As gym was their last class of the day, they could simply leave as soon as they were ready.

Akane grabbed Ranko's chin in her hand and took a closer look at the bruise. "There's a lot of swelling. We should go see Dr. Tofu to make sure it doesn't get too bad." She released her grip and smirked as she put her hands on her hips. "Maybe that'll teach you to pay closer attention to the game. You were checking me out again, weren't you?" she accused.

Ranko sighed. "I can't help it. You know how I feel about you. I can't help but look whenever I can get away with it, and these gym uniforms don't help," she explained as she was barely able to hold her gaze on Akane's face rather than drift down to her chest.

Akane took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I really wish you would get over this and find someone who shares your, um, interests. You know it can never work between us, and even if I did like girls, it would just be too weird getting involved with someone I think of as my own sister."

"I've tried. I really have, but I just can't do it," said Ranko. "Maybe if I knew another lesbian, she could get my mind off of you, but you know as well as I do that there are no open lesbians in this school."

"You could always come out into the open and let any possible dates come to you. It would get you out of the morning battles, too," Akane suggested.

"We've talked about this, sis," replied Ranko. "People think I'm weird enough as it is. I don't want to add anything else to the list. On top of that, I'm certainly not going to put the full burden of the Hentai Horde on your shoulders. You're already starting to crack under the pressure."

"I guess you're right," conceded Akane. "C'mon, let's shower and get changed, but you'd better not peek at me," she warned.

"You know I would never do that," replied Ranko. "I always keep my eyes averted as best as I can when I'm in here." She gave a flirtatious grin. "Besides, if I ever were to peek at a beautiful girl like you in the shower, I'd need a blood transfusion from the massive nosebleed I'd get." Akane shook her head as she walked away towards the showers while secretly blushing at the compliment.

* * *

Eventually, the two sisters reached Dr. Tofu's clinic. Once inside, they were glad to see he wasn't busy. "Akane, Ranko, it's good to see you two again. That's a nasty bruise you've got there, Ranko. I assume that's why you're here?"

"Yeah, a little baseball accident," replied Ranko.

"I have a balm that works wonders," said Dr. Tofu. "Back in a jiffy."

Just then the phone rang, and Akane went to answer it. "Hello? Can I help you?" After a pause, she responded by saying, "Oh! Yes, yes, I see. Okay, bye." After hanging up the phone, she turned to Ranko. "We have to get out of here soon! Kasumi's coming!"

"Ah, man," complained Ranko. "We can't leave until Doc takes a look at my bruise. Why now? Please, hurry up, Doc." Ranko began twitching her legs in nervousness.

Finally, Dr. Tofu came back with the balm. "Now, let's see the wound." He removed the bandage. "Hmm, the impression of that baseball...Akane hit it, right?"

Ranko's and Akane's eyes both went wide. "Huh? How did you?" Ranko stuttered.

Dr. Tofu grinned. "With an impression that deep, a bruise that big, who else but you or Akane, and you certainly couldn't have done it to yourself?"

Ranko chuckled, "I guess you're right, Doc. I guess deep down we're just a couple of savages despite how cute we appear to be."

"Hey! Speak for yourself, you dummy!" Akane shouted. "Some of us like the idea of being thought of as feminine at times. It was your fault for not paying attention!"

Dr. Tofu scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "You mean Akane did hit that ball?! I was just joking." Dr. Tofu missed Akane's depressed look as he continued. "But so what, eh? What's wrong with being active? It just means you're healthy." Ranko, on the other hand, couldn't help but notice Akane's rejected look at the ignorant words spoken by the man she had a crush on. Realizing that it had gone too far, she wisely restrained herself from making any further comments on the subject.

Dr. Tofu turned back to Ranko. "Hold still, now. I have to apply this disinfectant."

Suddenly, the door opened, and Kasumi Tendo walked in with a cheerful, "Good afternoon, doctor." Dr. Tofu's glasses immediately fogged up, and he wasted no time in twisting Ranko's head to the side of her neck with a sickening "Krrak!"

Ranko jumped up from her chair and hid behind Akane before he could do anything worse to her. Together, they watched as Dr. Tofu made a fool out of himself first using the cloth wrapped around Kasumi's gift of homemade cookies as a mask and then attempting to eat the plate. Finally, Akane couldn't stand it anymore and ran from the clinic, Ranko following as best as she could with a lopsided head.

* * *

Ranko finally caught up to Akane back at the dojo, where she had changed into her gi and was crying as she broke concrete blocks. 'I can't let it hurt me,' she thought.

Suddenly, Ranko leaned into her view and made a funny face while sticking out her tongue. Akane wasn't in the mood for games. "What are you doing?" she snapped as she slammed Ranko's head to the floor.

"Geez, Akane," replied Ranko. "I'm just tryin' to cheer you up. You don't need to hit me for it." She smiled as she stood up and rotated her neck. "You did manage to fix my neck, though. Thanks." Akane continued to stare at the ground between their feet with a frown on her face. "C'mon, Akane," continued Ranko. "We've both known for a long time that Dr. Tofu only has eyes for Kasumi."

Akane sniffled. "I know. It's just...this is the first time in a long while that I've let myself get caught at the clinic at the same time as Kasumi. Those comments he made didn't help either. I can't keep fooling myself about it any longer. It's clear that he'll never see me in any kind of romantic light."

Ranko pulled her miserable sister into her arms and began rubbing her back. Akane relaxed in Ranko's grip and lay her head against Ranko's shoulder. "It's all right, Akane. Dr. Tofu just can't see you as anything other than that little girl who kept getting hurt practicing martial arts and getting into fights. He can't understand how much you struggle balancing your love of the Art with your desire to be feminine and treated like the beautiful young woman you really are. Frankly, he's too old for you, anyway. Someday you'll find someone closer to your own age who truly understands you." 'I just wish it could be me,' she silently added to herself. "So cheer up, Akane. You're really cute when you smile."

Akane looked up and proved Ranko's point with a huge smile. "Thank you, Ranko. You always know just what to say."

* * *

That night shortly before bed, Akane entered Ranko's room to find her reading in bed. "You're borrowing my 'Sailor Moon' manga? I thought you didn't like that kind of manga."

Ranko shrugged. "Eh, the plot's not bad, so who am I to turn down looking at a bunch of hot girls in miniskirts fighting evil?" She looked up and grinned. "I certainly wouldn't mind looking at your legs if you want to cosplay as one of them sometime. Sailor Mercury has your hair color, but hers is too short, so you'd have to dye your hair or wear a wig and go as maybe Venus or Mars. Me, my chest size would make me a great Jupiter if I wasn't so short. I'm not sure who I'd be. I might have to settle for Naru with my hair color." Akane shook her head at her sister's lesbian antics.

"Ranko," interrupted Akane, "I've been doing some thinking about things now that I'm pretty much over Dr. Tofu. I've got an idea on how to get rid of the Hentai Horde for good, and I'm now willing to go through with it. It involves you coming out as a lesbian, though."

Ranko sighed. "Akane..." she began only for Akane to cut her off with an upraised hand. "I know you're worried about me, but I've come up with a way to get them to leave me alone too, and no it doesn't involve me falsely claiming to also be a lesbian. I want it to be a surprise, though. You just need to loudly make some kind of declaration about your orientation once we take down the grunts one last time and Kuno makes his usual challenge. I'll take it from there."

Ranko's brow furrowed in indecision. "Please, Ranko." begged Akane. "It's time everyone knew the real you, and I'm sick and tired of all those perverted b******s hunting us like we're some kind of prey to be turned into slabs of meat.

"Okay, Akane," agreed Ranko. "You're right that we've let this go on for far too long."

* * *

The next day, they put their plan into action. With a few dozen boys lying around them, either unconscious or groaning in pain, Kuno stepped forward. "What fools these mortals be! Surely they must know by now that only I, Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, am a worthy match for thee, my loves. Come, if one of you can defeat me, I shall allow you to date with me."

"Kuno!" shouted Ranko. "Enough is enough! You're just not my type. The truth is I'll never be interested in dating you or any other guys, whether they're foolish enough to attack me or not."

"Surely, you jest, my dear Ranko," complained Kuno. "How can you swear off men when you have the favor of a noble warrior such as I?"

Ranko shook her head. "You don't understand, Kuno. I've never been interesting in dating any boys. I don't like boys that way. I'm only attracted to other girls."

Kuno's face went pale as several whispers quickly made their way around the courtyard among the students watching the scene. "You're a lesbian?" Kuno squeaked in disbelief. Ranko nodded. Kuno shook his head clear, and his face soon showed his usual determination once again. "Although your fiery-haired beauty is no longer worthy of my love, I can now set my sights solely on wooing your sister, the fair Akane Tendo."

"I don't think so, Kuno!" shouted Akane with a scowl on her face and her fists clenched at her side.

"Surely, thou are not also of the unnatural opinion that you cannot find happiness in the strong arms of a man?" asked Kuno worriedly, remembering Akane's battle cry of 'I hate boys.'

"No, I am attracted to men," explained Akane. "It's just that you and all of the others who attack us absolutely disgust me! All the times I've claimed to hate boys, I've meant that I hate all the perverts here at Furinkan who somehow think I'd be interesting in someone who assaults me instead of asking me out like a normal person. In fact, I'd rather kiss Ranko than any of the boys here."

Akane then proved her point by walking over to Ranko, cupping her cheeks in her hands, and giving her a big kiss right on her lips. Huge gasps were heard in the crowd. Ranko was shocked at first but then began returning the kiss while placing her hands on Akane's shoulders. She felt a fire burn within her during those several seconds before Akane finally broke apart from her. "Wow!" was all she could say in response.

"NOOO!" screamed Kuno. "You unnatural vixen! Thou hast defiled the lips of thy pure-hearted sister! I shall smite thee and free my fierce tigress from your treachery!"

Ranko sighed as Kuno charged towards her. "Well, it is my turn to beat him up, after all." Kuno was off his game as he let his anger control him. A few well-placed blows later and it was over with Kuno flat on his back sporting several bruises next to several pieces of broken wood.

Akane stood over him (although at a safe distance to avoid any chance of Kuno getting a look up her dress) to provide him with her planned ultimatum. "Kuno, for the last time, leave me alone! If you or any of the others attacks either Ranko or me again, I'll ask Ranko out on a date. I think I've proven that I'm not bluffing about this kind of thing." She punctuated her threat by lifting one of her legs and slamming the heel of her shoe into Kuno's groin. Kuno let out a horrific scream until he mercifully blacked out from the pain.

Ranko winced at Akane's vicious attack before following her into the building. She concluded that the rest of the Hentai Horde was sure to give up now, and hopefully Kuno had also learned his lesson, although she hoped he'd be foolish enough to try one more time given what Akane had just promised.

* * *

During class, Ranko's and Akane's desks both piled up with notes from their curious classmates, which they both refused to read. At lunch, they also ignored several people who tried to talk to them, instead eating quietly with their friends Sayuri and Yuka, who were wise enough to hold off their own questions for now.

Kuno once again proved to be a slow learner when he burst into their classroom halfway through lunch attempting to attack Ranko. Akane laid him out with a single punch before turning to her delighted sister and asking, "Ranko, will you go out with me Friday night?" "I'd love to, Akane," she replied.

Later in the day, Ranko faced a confrontation from the other girls in the locker room before gym class. Ranko explained and Akane confirmed that she always did her best not to look at anyone in the locker room. With Akane backing her up while no one was able to contradict the claim, and realizing that Ranko had no other real options, they accepted this explanation, although several of the girls couldn't help glancing at her from time to time to make sure she wasn't peeking.

* * *

Ranko and Akane left school together with Sayuri and Yuka. They were barely past the school gate when their friends started asking rapid-fire questions. Akane held up a hand for silence. "I'll be glad to answer your questions, but in return I want you two to come shopping with me this afternoon."

"Ugh, shopping," complained Ranko. "You guys can go do that without me."

Sayuri giggled. "You're so weird sometimes, Ranko. What kind of teenage girl doesn't like to go shopping?"

Ranko sighed. "I just find it boring is all, unless we're going shopping for new swimsuits. Akane, remember that one bikini Kasumi tried on last year? It was so skimpy I actually got a nosebleed when she showed it off to us."

Yuka gasped. "So it's true. You really are a lesbian. You weren't just saying it to get those perverted jerks to back off."

"Of course it's true," confirmed Ranko. "I wouldn't want everyone in school thinking I'm gay if I were actually straight, Kuno or no Kuno." She thought of something she needed to tell them and continued. "Don't worry about it. The two of you are good looking and all, and maybe you'll catch a glance from me every now and then, but I'm not actually interested in either of you like that."

Sayuri raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean there is a girl you like?"

"Well, uh, yeah, um," Ranko began spluttering. Sayuri and Yuka however both noticed that not only had Ranko just glanced at Akane but Akane's cheeks had turned red. "No way!" they both shouted in unison.

"You have a crush on Akane?!" said Sayuri in disbelief. "But she's your sister! That's so weird."

"Well, it's not like she's my biological sister," said Ranko. "I know it's unusual, but I can't help how I feel about her."

"No wonder you were enjoying it so much when Akane kissed you this morning," commented Yuka.

Akane was blushing harder now. "Ranko really helped me out with a problem I had yesterday," she explained. "The kiss doubled as a sort of thank you present while also underlying my point to Kuno and the Hentai Horde. I really don't think there are any guys at school worth dating after what they put me through. Even the ones who weren't part of the Horde never tried to stop it or otherwise stand up for us or even offer sympathy."

"Maybe we should change the subject," suggested Yuka. "Why do you want us to go shopping with you, Akane?"

Akane smiled. "Well, someone needs to help me find a new outfit to buy for my date Friday."

Ranko's jaw dropped. "You mean you actually want to go through with it? You don't have to do that, Akane. I really don't mind." The last part of her statement was a blatant lie.

"I want to do this for you, Ranko," said Akane. "Besides, it wouldn't be much of a deterrent for Kuno if we don't actually do it. However, I expect _you_ to wear a dress, too. It doesn't need to be anything fancy, just something that will make you look nice."

"Aw man," complained Ranko.

Sayuri shook her head and said, "You know, Akane may be a tomboy, but you really take it to the extreme, Ranko. When's the last time you wore a dress or skirt other than your school uniform or when forced to do so for a special occasion? Now that we know you like girls, I'm beginning to wonder if you'd be happier if you were a boy."

Ranko shrugged. "It's just the way I am."

At this point, they reached the intersection where they would separate to reach their individual houses. Sayuri and Yuka agreed that after they went home, changed clothes, and informed their parents, they would meet back up with Akane at her house for their shopping trip.

* * *

Friday night came, and Ranko was incredibly nervous. She was actually going on a real date with Akane! It would probably be the only date the two of them would ever have together, but she really didn't want to mess this up.

They had told their family that they would be going out together to see a movie and also grab some dinner while they were out, which was technically all true. They left the house in casual clothes with their dresses and more formal shoes in the backpacks they carried. This proved to be an especially smart decision when Ranko would once again be splashed by the ladle lady. Once outside the gate, Ranko made the bold move of grabbing and holding Akane's hand. She was pleased when Akane made no move to pull away but actually flashed one of her brilliant smiles at the contact.

They both enjoyed the martial arts action film they had chosen to see. Ranko was surprised when Akane actually leaned her head against her shoulder halfway through the film, although she certainly wasn't going to complain about it.

The restaurant they had chosen wasn't fancy or expensive, but it was a nice looking place where they would be waited on instead of some cheap fast-food joint. After they were seated at their table, Ranko first went to the ladies' room to change into the simple sun dress she had picked out to wear. Afterwards, Akane took her turn to change into her new outfit, which would be a surprise for Ranko.

When Akane reappeared, Ranko gasped at the sight of the beautiful girl, no woman, who rejoined her at their table. She was wearing a very attractive blouse that was mostly dark pink with a large strip of white fabric at the top that went across her breastbone and shoulders yet otherwise left her arms bare. A smaller white strip encircled the blouse at her waist. The effect was completed with a red rose decoration at her left shoulder. The blouse was then complimented with a tight dark-red miniskirt that didn't even reach halfway to her knees, white shoes, and a red band in her hair at the top of her head complete with a little bow.

Together they ate and at first talked about some of the usual things they liked to discuss. Ranko was having trouble focusing on the conversation, though, as she continued to look at her date and had become aware of how uncomfortable her bra was against certain parts of her chest.

Once they ordered dessert, Akane's face became serious. "Ranko, I have a confession to make. I did arrange for the kiss at school and this date both as a way to stop the Hentai Horde and to thank you for helping me get over Dr. Tofu, but I had a third reason as well." She took a deep breath before continuing, now unable to look Ranko in the eyes, her hands nervously fidgeting in her lap. "I've never told anybody this before. You see, while I am attracted to boys, I'm also attracted to girls. In other words, I'm bisexual."

Ranko's face lit up like a rocket on New Year's Eve. There was a chance for them to be together after all. She listened carefully as Akane continued. "Anyway, now that I'm over Dr. Tofu, I decided that I owed both of us a chance to kiss and go on a real date. However, this does not mean I want to pursue a romantic relationship with you. This is probably as far as we'll ever go."

At the disappointed look on Ranko's face, Akane tried to explain. "It's not that I'm uninterested in you. I'm actually very attracted to you. I care deeply for you as your sister and friend, and let's face it, you're really hot. There could be some romantic feelings in there more than simple lust. I'm not sure myself. But I'm too scared to try and find out if there can be anything between us. Unlike you, I do like guys, and I've always dreamed of someday getting married and having kids, you know, a normal family. I can't do those things with you. I'll probably never find anyone at Furinkan High, but someday I hope to meet the man of my dreams."

Ranko looked like she was about to cry at this point. Akane reached over and grabbed her hand from across the table. "Please understand, Ranko. I know it's not fair for you, and you're the last person I ever want to hurt, but I can't just limit myself like that. Maybe in a few years if I still haven't found anyone I may be more open to it, but it just won't work right now." Ranko nodded her understanding.

The topic of conversation shifted to lighter tones as they ate their desserts, and Ranko started to feel better. By the time they reached their gate on their walk back home (back in their original clothes, of course), Ranko was smiling again.

Ranko pulled Akane back before she could walk inside. "I've been thinking," began Ranko nervously, "how exactly has this been a date instead of an evening together as friends like we told your parents? Yes, we did dress up, but there are all kinds of reasons to do that besides dating. I think you owe me a goodnight kiss if we're going to consider this a real date."

Akane thought about it and decided that she did owe Ranko this one favor at the very least. "Okay, we'll kiss one last time."

Akane leaned forward only to be surprised as Ranko pulled her all the way into her arms and began kissing her passionately. Akane was even more surprised to discover how much she enjoyed this aggressive move and began returning the passion. There was just something right about this. It didn't take long before their tongues were in each others mouths. After a few minutes, they finally broke apart in exhaustion, both of their faces overheated.

"Wow!" exclaimed Akane as she fought to catch her breath. "That was some goodnight kiss."

"Thank you, Akane," said Ranko as she entered the gate to their property. "I'll always treasure this evening." She looked back and gave a lopsided grin. "Right now, though, I need to go spend some private time in my room with my thoughts and to change my panties."

Akane caught what Ranko was implying as she followed her back to their house realizing that she needed to do the same things herself.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Woohoo, bonus chapter!

Akane's outfit for the date is the one she wore on the "date" in the animé adaption of the Nabiki Fiancée Arc (Episode 110). Just imagine her with long hair instead.

So this was a pretty WAFFY chapter, but the next one will be more action-packed when Ryoga shows up to challenge Furinkan High's best fighters.


End file.
